Keith Curle hailed a performance full of desire as he secured his first win as Oldham boss with a 2-1 home victory against Sky Bet League Two play-off contenders Exeter.

The Latics gave it everything and hung on bravely to secure Curle a maiden success in his fifth game since succeeding Harry Kewell.

Curle said: “I’m really pleased for the lads because overall, that type of performance typifies the qualities that you need if you are to get good, positive results against top teams in this division.

“It’s not always about trying hard to dismantle teams, it’s more about the quality in and out of possession, and I thought we showed plenty of that.

“The lads showed lots of what I asked for, and what I’ve been asking for since I came here.

“Maybe we need to attach a bit more importance and pay more attention to set-pieces.

“They are what get you the rewards, and that’s proved to be the case tonight.

“There was understanding and real desire out there too.

“Again, they are things that offer you the potential to gain rewards, and that’s just what happened tonight against a quality Exeter team.

“I’m delighted for Alfie (McCalmont) too. He used great technique for his goal.

“He was exactly where he needed to be when the ball came to him, and he produced a composed finish.”

Oldham had been second best in the first period, but led at the break after Kyle Jameson headed home Nicky Adams’ super cross in the 35th minute.

The Grecians saw Matt Jay, Nigel Atangana and Jake Caprice all go close.

Exeter’s Archie Collins struck the crossbar soon after the restart, before Oldham doubled their lead thanks to McCalmont’s stunning volley.

Jack Sparkes halved Exeter’s deficit and then Ben Seymour hit a post, but the visitors could not find a leveller as Oldham hung on.

“I’ve said a few too many times lately that we’ve had a dominant performance and then ended up getting nothing from the game,” said Exeter boss Matt Taylor, reflecting on a third straight defeat.

“There were quite a few key moments in the game where we just weren’t good enough.

“Too many players have let us down and that’s really disappointing for me to say.

“I’ve trusted a lot of these players for a long time, but they’ve come up short tonight.

“I can’t fault the effort, especially in that second half, but we just couldn’t find that second goal.

“Maybe that bit of extra quality was needed in certain situations.

“I just feel that some of the players didn’t give enough for the shirt or for the badge tonight, and that’s clearly not good enough in our position.

“You need to be willing to die for the shirt, but I didn’t necessarily see enough of that here.

“It’s all about standards, but we didn’t meet them.

“It’s been a frustrating night for everyone, but we go again at the weekend now.”